6 arrested for stabbing during Pillar of Defense

Fatah allegedly planned stabbing of Beersheba man; attack carried out by Beduin-Israelis from the Negev, Palestinians from Hebron.

arrest 311 R.
(photo credit:REUTERS/Eric Gaillard )

Security forces arrested six terror suspects last month on suspicion of carrying
out a stabbing attack on a student in Beersheba during the eight-day conflict
with Hamas in Gaza, the IDF announced on Thursday.

The suspects are
Beduin from the Negev and Palestinians from Hebron. Fatah’s Al- Aksa Martyrs
Brigades in the West Bank played a central part in organizing the attack,
investigators said.

During the November 19 attack, a student was stabbed
in the shoulder as he jogged near Ben-Gurion University in the southern city. He
was moderately wounded.

The investigation was launched by the Shin Bet
(Israel Security Agency), the Israel Police and the IDF.

Security forces
named Abdullah Samhan, 23, from Dhahiriya, near Hebron, as the main stabbing
suspect.

Baha’a Samamra, 21, also from Dhahiriya, was with Samhan during
the attack, according to security forces.

The attack was allegedly
organized by Ahmed Abu Ali, 37, from Yatta, also near Hebron.

The Aksa
Martyrs Brigades recruited Muhammad Jamil Abu Kwider, 26, from Tel Sheva, near
Beersheba, to join the terrorist cell, while Ataf Abu Kwider, also from Tel
Sheva, helped the attackers, providing them room and board after the
stabbing.

A 17-year-old Israeli Beduin was also arrested for being with
the perpetrators during the attack.

“In the course of their
investigation, two of the Arab-Israeli suspects, Muhammad Abu Kwider and the 17-
year-old minor, confessed to being recruited by residents of the Mount Hebron
area for attacks by the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah’s military wing,” the Shin
Bet said.

The pair had also plotted to carry out bomb and shooting
attacks against targets in Israel, attack settlers in the Hebron area, and
kidnap a soldier.

Three suspects have been charged so far, and the
remainder will be charged in the coming days. The charges include attempted
murder, assisting the enemy, membership and activity in an illegal organization,
aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit a crime, illegal military training, and
illicit weapons trading.